#4 in the series, received in ebook format from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

Benjamin is not happy - he's been put on a diet by his wife - and it's the Cabbage Soup diet no less! (though the way it was described how Elizabeth cooked it - I was *so* prepared to at least try it once!). As usual there are few physical descriptions of the characters - I believe there is a TV tie in though I dont know which came first - apart from that Benjamin is in his 50s and overweight. He is under pressure at wok, with the amount of testing and tasting he and his company have to do - no mean feat when he's on a diet and not allowed to drink (much)!

This is a fast paced book, where several murders are being discovered every day, and before anyone knows it, 6 people are dead or have had their graves desecrated. Benjamin is pulled in because with each death 12 glasses are laid out at the scene with increasing amounts of wine poured out. Benjamin is asked to identify the wine in the hope that it can help lead to the killer. It’s a 1942 vintage, which leads to talking about a very difficult time in French history. Virgile is coming into his own, as it is one of his contacts that puts them on the right track regarding the local factions and splinter groups during the war.

As usual with murder mysteries, the prime suspect is found almost by accident, and it's only through digging further into the background, trying to find connections, that a discovery of betrayal, murder and the vagaries of war are found.

#4 in the series, received in ebook format from Netgalley in exchange for a review.

Benjamin is not happy - he's been put on a diet by his wife - and it's the Cabbage Soup diet no less! (though the way it was described how Elizabeth cooked it - I was *so* prepared to at least try it once!). As usual there are few physical descriptions of the characters - I believe there is a TV tie in though I dont know which came first - apart from that Benjamin is in his 50s and overweight. He is under pressure at wok, with the amount of testing and tasting he and his company have to do - no mean feat when he's on a diet and not allowed to drink (much)!

This is a fast paced book, where several murders are being discovered every day, and before anyone knows it, 6 people are dead or have had their graves desecrated. Benjamin is pulled in because with each death 12 glasses are laid out at the scene with increasing amounts of wine poured out. Benjamin is asked to identify the wine in the hope that it can help lead to the killer. It’s a 1942 vintage, which leads to talking about a very difficult time in French history. Virgile is coming into his own, as it is one of his contacts that puts them on the right track regarding the local factions and splinter groups during the war.

As usual with murder mysteries, the prime suspect is found almost by accident, and it's only through digging further into the background, trying to find connections, that a discovery of betrayal, murder and the vagaries of war are found.

This series has much in common with the Bruno Courréges series - the wonderful food (and of course, wine!), the local community and often an involvement of some aspect of French history. The mystery is OK but I read these primarily for those other aspects. ( )

Benjamin Cooker is called in to help with a case when an old man is killed and twelve classes are placed close to the dead body with one of the glasses filled with wine. It seemed to be an old wine from around 1940. Then another body is found with twelve glasses around the body, but this time two glasses filled with wine. Is someone out to kill twelve persons? What's the motive?

I did have some trouble getting into the story despite the shortness of this book. I just felt that I even though the beginning was interesting with the dead body and the wine glasses, but I felt that I had some problem with really taking in the rest of the story and remember who was who. And, I knew who the killer was almost right away. Perhaps, because there weren't that many suspects to choose between. Anyway, but the ending was really good, the explanation to everything. It was so sad and also justifying in a way.

So, this book was not the best I have read in this series. But the purpose, the history behind the murders that was revealed in the end was so poignant so that raises the rating with a star.

Thanks to Le French Book and Edelweiss for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review! ( )